DealBook Online

Published: October 13, 2011

CLEANING THE CLOSET Liz Claiborne, the women's apparel maker, announced on Wednesday the sale of its namesake brand and Monet to J. C. Penney and of Kensie to Bluestar Alliance. The transactions, along with the recent sale of its Dana Buchman brand to the Kohl's department store, will generate $328 million in cash proceeds, the company said.

''Over the past few years, we have worked diligently to turn this into a more efficient, dynamic, brand-centric, retail-based company, and today marks the culmination of these efforts,'' William L. McComb, above, the chief of Liz Claiborne, said in a statement. EVELYN M. RUSLI

GAINING SUPPORT The Securities and Exchange Commission became the latest agency on Wednesday to support an initial version of the so-called Volcker Rule, regulation aimed at curtailing risky trading on Wall Street.

The agency, which voted unanimously to advance the proposal, also introduced a plan to outline the process for banks and other financial firms that trade derivatives to register with the agency. BEN PROTESS

MISSING THE MARK The nearly month-old Occupy Wall Street protest has apparently settled on a favorite target for their ire, Jamie Dimon, left. On Wednesday, protesters held another demonstration aimed at shaming the banking chief for a forthcoming tax break for his firm, JPMorgan Chase.

But they went to One Chase Manhattan Plaza in downtown Manhattan. Mr. Dimon's office is at 270 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, as are most of the banking giant's operations. MICHAEL J. de la MERCED

FAR-REACHING CASE A tax evasion investigation in the United States has reached Julius Baer, a spokesman for the Swiss lender confirmed Wednesday, a day after the government charged two advisers with conspiring to help clients evade American taxes on more than $600 million hidden in offshore accounts. DAVID JOLLY